It Felt So Sacred

Let us turn back the clock a little and see what Jianxia had done while waiting for Gojo Gen to surface from the foul water.

Just as he had said earlier, Jianxia's Cursed Spirit Manipulation Pro Max only required an infusion of cursed energy to fully resurrect a subdued cursed spirit that had been killed.

The trade-off was that the stronger the cursed spirit, the more cursed energy its resurrection required-even with Jianxia's absurd cursed energy control and his current reserves, he could only revive one Grade 2 cursed spirit a day.

So, after waiting thirty seconds without seeing Gojo Gen surface, Jianxia infused cursed energy into a Grade 3 cursed spirit, revived it, and sent it outside the earthen dome.

This was Jianxia's contingency plan for a possible domain battle.

And when Gojo Gen expanded his domain, Jianxia issued his order as he activated Hollow Wicker Basket.

"Break the domain's outer shell."

To ensure the order could be carried out, Jianxia had even specifically instructed the Grade 3 cursed spirit to return to the Zenin Clan's cursed storehouse and pick out a Grade 2 cursed tool to boost its attack power.

Gojo Gen was right. Even if Jianxia created favorable terrain within the domain, he could not win.

That was why, from the very beginning, Jianxia had never intended to defeat Gojo Gen inside his domain.

"As expected of Lord Jianxia! He did what ordinary people couldn't without even breaking a sweat!"

Watching the fight, Uraume's blood boiled with excitement.

To Uraume, this was the righteous, handsome, powerful Jianxia effortlessly defeating the evil, ugly, weak Gojo Gen.

A mere Gojo Clan head thought he could compare to Lord Jianxia?

Lord Jianxia would crush Gojo Gen in an instant!

Shinji Zenin could see both what happened within the domain and the movements of the Grade 3 cursed spirit outside, so he naturally understood the tactics Jianxia had used.

Though the method was less than honorable, that did not change the fact that Jianxia had won.

"So that means..." Shinji Zenin rubbed his chin, his voice certain. "The Chief won!"

On the mountain behind the estate, the giant wooden pillars created by House-Maker did not disappear after the domain shattered.

Gojo Gen fell from the air onto a pillar not far from Jianxia and did not get up for quite some time.

Afraid Gojo Gen had been knocked unconscious by the fall, Jianxia first recalled all his cursed spirits into the black substance, then hurried over to the pillar where Gojo Gen lay.

But Gojo Gen was fully conscious. He lay spread-eagled in the center of the pillar, staring blankly at the cloudless sky without a trace of expression.

Only when he noticed Jianxia approaching did Gojo Gen speak, as though talking to himself.

"Just finish me off-you thought I'd say that, didn't you?"

But before Jianxia could answer, Gojo Gen glanced at him and continued on his own. "Whatever tactics you used, Jianxia... you really are the first jujutsu sorcerer to defeat me."

A shattered domain meant cursed technique burnout, and cursed technique burnout meant defeat for a jujutsu sorcerer.

Unable to activate Limitless anymore, Gojo Gen had lost his ability to fight, and he freely conceded to Jianxia.

"Gojo Clan head, you're strong. The strongest opponent I've fought so far."

Jianxia crouched down and extended his right hand.

"You had plenty of chances to beat me, but you chose to hold back every time. If we'd put our lives on the line in a fight to the death, I couldn't have won."

Gojo Gen looked at Jianxia's offered hand, smiled knowingly, then gripped it firmly.

"Stop comforting a loser like me. Enjoy your victory." Gojo Gen stood up and rolled his shoulders. "As I promised beforehand, I'll grant you one request, as long as it's within my power."

No matter how many conditions had been necessary for Jianxia's victory, a win was a win. As the Gojo Clan head, Gojo Gen certainly would not go back on his word.

"Well..."

But before Jianxia could decide what to ask for, they both felt a violent tremor beneath their feet.

A domain was, after all, a creation of barrier techniques. Even after shattering completely, it would linger for a while.

As mentioned earlier, after his Domain Expansion, Gojo Gen had crushed the original earthen dome and enclosed the foul water within his domain.

Once those remnants of the barrier vanished completely, the foul water would lose its container and naturally rush down from the mountaintop under the pull of gravity.

And what lay at the foot of that mountain?

Jianxia glanced at the Zenin Estate, then at the raging torrent of foul water, and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Fuck, no!"

As an ancient sorcerer who had been active since the Nara Era, Tengen had thought she no longer had any particular desires when it came to food.

After all, over such a long lifetime, sampling every famous delicacy was hardly difficult.

Cooking techniques in ancient times were limited, and most so-called delicacies were little more than novelties. Bear paws were one such example.

Yet in less than half an hour of wandering around Hiraizumi, Tengen saw more new things than she had in the past several decades combined.

"What's this?"

"And what's this?"

"They even have something like this?"

Tengen looked from one steamer to another oven, dazzled by all the different cooking methods she could not even name.

Despite the shortage of ingredients in the Heian Era, a month of Jianxia spreading his knowledge, combined with improvements from the many residents, had already given rise to numerous basic versions of dishes modeled after foods from later ages.

Of these, Tengen's favorite was a delicacy called "Mantou."

Soft and sweet, they tasted even better than the pastries served with tea.

According to the vendor selling them, they were a food from Tang China that Lord Jianxia had improved upon, and this was only the basic version-apparently, Mantou made with premium ingredients were even more delicious.

"Mantou~ Mantou~ I love big Mantou~"

Tengen bought ten Mantou at once and skipped toward the Zenin Estate, humming a song.

Though Jianxia's tactics earlier had been disgusting, a single bite of Mantou was enough to lift Tengen's spirits again.

But the moment she stepped into the Zenin Estate, a pungent odor assaulted her nostrils.

Tengen hurriedly covered her nose and mouth, nearly throwing up the Mantou she had just swallowed.

This was the tree-lined path leading outside the barrier. Why did it reek so horribly?

Tengen used a barrier technique to block out the stench, which made her feel a little better. She took a deep breath, then cautiously continued forward.

She had walked less than fifty meters when she rounded a corner near the little red bridge and saw Kamo Michisada lying on the ground, covered in black sludge.

"Lord Kamo! Lord Kamo!" Tengen stuffed the Mantou into the front of her robe, then hurried over to check on him. "Please, stay with me! Lord Kamo!"

Hearing someone call to him, Kamo Michisada struggled to raise his head. Only then did Tengen see that his face was also covered in a mixture of yellow, black, and brown filth.

Once he recognized who had come, Kamo Michisada used every last ounce of strength to grab Tengen's spotless white sleeve and forced out a few words.

"Lady Tengen... run... the attacker is..."

But before he could finish, Kamo Michisada retched up another great mouthful of foul water, then passed out.

Tengen glanced at the black sludge on her sleeve and found it very familiar. Only after confirming that Kamo Michisada still had a heartbeat did she move on.

The closer she got to the Zenin Estate, the more filth littered the path. Eventually, the pungent odor even penetrated Tengen's protective barrier, forcing her to strengthen it to block the smell completely.

Stepping cautiously through the main gate, Tengen was greeted by a scene straight out of hell.

Yellow, black, brown... things of every color covered everything in sight. A lump of something even hung from the eaves. Tengen watched it break apart and hit the ground with a wet splat.

Shinji Zenin, Megumi Zenin, and Zenin Wu Yan lay in a neat row in the open space at the center of the courtyard, apparently unconscious.

Gojo Gen, Jianxia, and Uraume stood beside the three unconscious figures, all wearing rather odd expressions.

"Jianxia, did we go a little too far?" Gojo Gen suddenly felt that perhaps he was not so dirty after all. He leaned toward Jianxia's ear as he spoke.

"We don't even know where the Kamo Clan head got swept off to. Should we go look for him?"

"No need. The Kamo Clan head is strong. He'll come back on his own once he wakes up."

Jianxia shook his head, indicating there was no need.

He was still wearing the Wooden Armor and could not smell even a hint of the pungent odor outside.

"Too far?" Though Uraume was also covered in filth, those eyes remained bright, the gaze directed at Jianxia filled with admiration.

"But I think it feels so sacred."